And then there were three.
Chelsea are the Premier League champions, Manchester United are wobbling, Newcastle are in free-fall and John Carver is still the best God-damned football coach earning a wage in the UK.
Enough of reality, it is time to spruce up, or shore up, in the Fantasy Football world. Here are our tips for the top, and a few hacks you can turf out.
Three players to sign
David Silva
Fixture: QPR (H)
Price: 9.5
Selected by: 19.9%
The final dagger should be plunged in Queens Park Ranger’s league survival hopes, this weekend, and we reckon the Spanish maestro will do most of the plunging. 163 points so far this season, including another eight bagged last week.
City want second and the man that Noel Gallagher would let sleep with his wife can propel them there.
Alexis Sanchez
Fixture: Swansea (H)
Price: 11.4
Selected by: 30.7%
The Chilean is having some debut season at The Emirates. He has been pivotal in the Gunners’ [ultimately unsuccessful] title push and has played more games in a year than we’ve eaten tin-foiled encased lunches. In serious form after two goals against Hull on Monday.
Tom Cleverley
Fixture: West Ham (H)
Price: 5.2
Selected by: 0.3%
If we had suggested this to you three weeks ago, we would have expected, and possibly enjoyed, a punch in the kisser. The Manchester United loanee has rediscovered that he gets paid to play football, ever since Tim Sherwood gesticulated in the front door at Villa Park.
Two goals in his last two games, cheap as a reasonably priced apple and the stuttering Hammers at home. Yoink.
Three players to sell
Wayne Rooney
Fixture: Crystal Palace (A)
Price: 10.8
Selected by: 18.5%
Thanks for the purple patch Wazza but you can go. Louis van Gaal looks certain to demote the striker into a centre midfield role. In his six games up front, Rooney scored four goals and had two assists. In his last 10 games in midfield, the hirsute Liverpudlian has zero goals and one assist.
Jordan Henderson
Fixture: Chelsea (A)
Price: 6.7
Selected by: 23.5%
Chelsea may rest many of their top players, now that the league is secure, but Liverpool should not expect much change at Stamford Bridge. Henderson’s form has tapered off in recent weeks and he will be doing well to create and scoring chances or it the target with the nine-man defence Chelsea are currently employing.
Fabricio Coloccini
Fixture: WBA (H)
Price: 4.5
Selected by: 3.3%
If you still have this liability in your FF squad, we hope he is warming the bench. A grand total of -3, 1, 1 and 1 in his last four outings, the Magpies captain looks lost at sea.
He penned a ‘we can do this’ letter to the Toon fans midweek but few see Carver and his skipper getting this sinking ship to shore.
